Zootopia, 1942
by Call Me Petey
Summary: A sly fox is trying to make his name known in the world of crime, but will a certain rookie officer looking to jump right in to the crime-fighting scene stop him in his tracks?
1. The Message

_Tick... Tick..._

Emerald eyes looked down to an unlit cigarette that was bobbing around with the motions of a red muzzle. The gas pump in front of him quietly filled his car as he leaned against the old, beat up clunker. He pulled his hat down to shade his eyes as the pastel sunset pierced through the tall buildings and cut through the dying hullabaloo of a busy day in Zootopia.

 _Tick... Tick..._

Reaching into his long, leather coat, the fox pulled out a Hippo brand lighter, cupping the flame as it lit the cigarette in his mouth. Taking a deep breath, he looked over to the door of the small, family owned gas station, cheerfully named "Porkers". There on the bench in front sat a fennec with large, blonde ears reading the daily newspaper, his eyes hidden by dark sunglasses and his features covered with a hat similar to the red fox's.

 _Tick..._

The red fox let out a large plume of smoke, and got up from his relaxed lean. Putting both hands into his coat pockets, he glanced around as he made his way to the bench. Seeing no other mammals around, the fox stopped just shy of the other animal.

"You ready, pal," the red fox questioned, his expression never changing as he pulled out a pair of sunglasses, donning the dark frames before taking another toke of his cigarette.

"Right behind ya, Nick," the smaller fox replied, folding the paper neatly and placing it on the bench beside him. "Ready t' prove you got it?"

Nick scoffed. "Let's just get this done and get paid."

The fennec smiled, opening the door to the business. "After you."

Nick strode in, hands still in pockets as he looked about the place. Only one other mammal was inside, just a grocery shopping tigress. The fennec strode out the other direction towards the soda pop, eyes darting here and there.

Nick puffed his cigarette as he looked at the postcards in clear eyesight of the cashier, catching the attention of the Pig behind the register.

"Hey, sir, you can't smoke in here," the swine said sternly, trying to get the fox's attention.

Nick stood motionless for just a second before responding with an even larger cloud of smoke than the first time.

"Hey," Joel (the cashier, according to his name plate) yelled, coming around from behind he counter, hooves clenched. "Get that nasty smoke outta my business!"

The pig outstretched his arm to grab a hold of the fox's shoulder when Nick darted to the side, pulling out a blackjack from his coat pocket simultaneously, and clubbed Joel behind the ear, dropping the larger pig cold.

The tigress gasped as she heard the commotion only to find herself in the same position as the pig, knocked out cold as she turned around to find another fox armed with a leather wrapped pipe swinging at her face.

"Bind those paws and make sure our little piggy isn't waking up anytime soon," Nick shouted at the fennec before hopping over the counter.

"What, don't think ya got 'im good enough Nick," the fennec asked, pulling out some makeshift handcuffs.

"Finnick, my expertise is on the plan," Nick said, pulling out a sawn off shotgun from the inside of his coat. "The execution can always be shaky."

With that, the fox laid the scattergun onto the counter and opened the register, pulling out all the cash he could.

"Bet this fatso is gonna wish he paid th' boss for protection now," Finnick said, stuffing his pockets with candy bars and sodas.

"Glad to see you're focusing on the important stuff," the red fox said, stuffing the last remaining bills into his pants pockets. "Start trashing the place."

With that, the two foxes started breaking anything that could be broken. Windows were bashed in, shelves knocked over, no rack or cabinet left unscathed. Finally, with their havoced handiwork complete, the two foxes decided it was best to make their leave, the message surely evident. Walking out the broken front doors, the two foxes ducked their heads and made their way to the car before hearing a slight _ding_. Nick walked over to the pump and pulled out the nozzle, looking at the price.

$2.83 for 12 gallons.

Nick scoffed, putting the nozzle on the ground and engaging the lever to let the oil pump onto the concrete for a few seconds before leaving it there and hopping into the car.

"Th' boss is gonna be happy with today, kid," Finnick said, taking off his glasses. "We really left them a message."

The fox shook his head, turning on the car and getting one last puff of his cigarette out before taking the butt end out of his mouth. Leaning over Fennec, Nick manually rolled down the window of his beat up Chefurlet, flicking the butt out the window and onto the gasoline puddle. Nick floored the gas pedal, squealing out of the gas station before it erupted in a moderate fireball, the gas pumps being set ablaze.

Taking off the glasses and pulling the shotgun out of his coat, the fox threw his items in the backseat before looking back to the road, a sly grin on his muzzle as he looked at the orangeish-purple painted sky.

"Now we've sent them a message."

* * *

 **AN: Well, here's this. I wanted to work on this for quite some time and now I get to work on it. Woop. But seriously, if you guys have any comments or anything, please let me know! Im trying to stick to short, sweet chapters (unlike my other unfinished stories (oopsie)) so hopefully I won't bore you to death with my atrocious writing. Anyway, if you like it, I'll be posting more at the earliest convenience and please feel free to comment and even hop in on the action if you want! Thanks a lot! - CMP**


	2. The Family

Nick sat quietly while the massive polar bear behind a rather large mahogany desk counted crumpled up bills. His big, white paws carefully smoothed out and placed each bill in it's respectful pile. After what seemed like an eternity to the fox, the polar bear cracked his knuckles and scooped up each pile, placing one on top of the other. Tapping the side of the bills onto the table to ensure their neatness, the bear folded the money in half, stuffing it into his jacket pocket. The large polar bear stood up, putting his hands into his pockets and staring coldly _at_ Nick, causing the fox to swallow hard. Nick's palms were getting sweaty; his eye starting to twitch. The uncomfortable feeling subsided when the polar bear broke the stare and made his way to the staircase, leading up to the second floor.

Nick sighed as the bear made his way up the old, wooden stairs. Glancing over to where Finnick was, Nick could feel himself shivering, only halfway induced by the cold of Tundratown. The two foxes met eyes, resulting in Finnick giving the timid red fox an encouraging thumbs-up. Nick returned the signal, only to hear the creaking of staircases under large, heavy footsteps. The fox quickly turned back around, his hands shooting behind his back in a respectful manner as the large polar bear from before came into eyesight, his big paws clasped together in front of him.

Nick felt his teeth begin to chatter.

 _Calm down, Nick... You want to make a good impression on this bear so you can get a job._

The polar bear sat down hard in the same chair as before, this time putting both arms onto the large table, extending them out towards Nick. Just as Nick had worked up the courage to say something to the white mammal, the polar bear opened his hands that he had kept clasped the entire time, revealing a very, VERY small chair. Bewildered, Nick cocked his head to the side, straining his eyes to see the small item revealed to him. The polar bear then ever so carefully spun the miniscule chair around, revealing a tiny little rodent in a suit.

Nick's jaw almost hit the floor. Here he was, about to pee himself because of the massive polar bears around the room and the anxiety fueled panic included with it when all this time the person he was supposed to meet and the person who is one of the biggest and most feared crime lords this side of Zootopia was no bigger than a Pawpsicle stick.

The tiny rodent lifted his hand from the arm of the chair, exposing a small, but expensive looking, ring. Confused, Nick looked back to Finnick.

"Kiss the ring," Finnick mouthed, a stern look on his face.

Nick turned back around, gulping before bringing a shaky set of hands up to the tiny rodent's hand and slowly bringing his trembling lips to the gem atop the gold band.

"Thank you so much for the opportunity, Mr. Big," Nick said nervously. "I just really hope th-"

"I ask you to teach this guy a lesson," the rodent inturrupted, his voice small but stern. "Make him see that he could use some protection for his bis'ness. And what do you go and do?"

Nick dare not say a single thing.

"You blow up the whole damn pump station and hit a innocent woman for no good reason," Mr. Big continued, causing Nick's ears to droop and shoulders to slouch as he heard the crime lord talk, feeling more and more like a failure. The few seconds of silence afterwards did nothing to help the fox either.

"However," the rodent said, cashing one of Nick's ears to perk up. "You collected one hundred and fourteen dollars from his store and sent a message to other businesses around that Mr. Big is no one to mess around with. That, my child, is a job well done."

Nick smiled as he heard Mr. Big praise his work, feeling a lot more confident now that he knew he wasn't a _complete_ failure _._

"You got spunk, kid, I'll give ya that," Mr. Big said, snapping at the large polar bear that brought him in. "Raymond, get this kid ready for initiation. He's just found himself a new family."

Meanwhile, after the the firetrucks had made their way back to the station, a small group of junior detectives stayed behind to investigate the gas station vandalism. One officer in particular, a rookie and the first ever Rabbit detective to be assigned in Zootopia, smiled as she picked up a small tuft of red fur with a pair of tweezers.

"Boom," the rabbit whispered with a smile, stuffing the fur into a small bag. "And now we have a lead."


	3. The Case

The air was filled with the choppy _whooshes_ that the slow-moving, overhead fan made. The office was small, no bigger than any other higher ranking mammal's, but was covered in awards and photos of the buffalo chief had taken with officers that the rabbit had never seen before. Chief Bogo let out a sigh and a plume of smoke as he took his cigar out of his mouth, placing it into the large ashtray on his desk before looking back down at the the evidence that was brought to him.

"I send you to investigate this vandalism with three other officers, and all you can bring back is _this_?" The massive water buffalo stat in front of the rabbit, barely able to hold the small tuft of red fur as he squinted to see the hair's features. The desk was huge compared to the bunny officer, so she stood on top of the chair in his office, even still barely able to see the chief.

"But, sir, with all due respect, I _am_ the only officer that found anything," the rabbit said, her amethyst eyes twinkling in the light gave off by the small overhead fan that spun loudly overhead.

"That's because these vandals must be professionals, Hopps," the chief said, tucking the hair sample back into the bag it came to him in. "Don't feel too high and mighty because you found something. This is barely enough to go on."

Judy's ears perked I up. "I knew you'd say so, sir," the young rabbit said, hopping up onto the chief's desk and reaching into the bag she had brought with her into the office, pulling out multiple photos.

"As you can see, sir," Judy said, laying the photos out in an organized fashion, causing the buffalo to put on his glasses to see the small photos. "This is the same type of fur that we've found at many of the crime scenes that happened just days apart."

The chief raised an uncaring eyebrow. "That just looks like fox hair, Hopps. It's a likely thing that fixes are involved in crimes. You know how they are."

"However," Judy said, pulling out the incident reports that went with the recent crimes. "Every victim or the victim's possessions had sometime in the past come into contact with a Tony E. Big." Judy pulled out another photo of a mugshot, the person in captivity being a small rodent with a gruff face. "Or 'Mr. Big,' as he's known in the crime world."

The buffalo took his glasses off and pulled his cigar from the ashtray, flicking off the ask from the tip before putting it back into his mouth. "So you're proposing that this, 'Mr. Big,' is behind all the crime sprees?"

Hopps' ears stood on end. "Yes sir, I do. Remember the shootout at Greston Parvey's Jeweler a few months ago when we ended up fatally wounding an alleged member of the Big gang?"

The chief raised an inquisitive eyebrow this time. "You weren't even here for that Hopps, how did you know abou-"

"Not important," Judy interrupted. "What is important is that I think that Mr. Big is giving jobs to a new member, and this new member, along with his boss, need to be brought to justice."

Chief Bogo brought a good to his chin, scratching at his whiskers.

"I can't just dump every officer I have into this case, Hopps," the chief said, puffing his half-gone cigar. "I just don't have the recourses or the mammal power to do so."

"I'm not asking for every officer, sir, I'm just asking for me," Judy said excitedly. "If anyone here can do it, it's me. After all, I _am_ the only one who can find any evidence."

The buffalo let out some air from his nose, trying to keep himself from giving Hopps the privilege of seeing him chuckle. Leaning back into his chair and looking at all the work Hopps had put into this, Bogo knew he had to let her work on this. Only being here for two weeks and being stuck on detective work, she was so eager and ready to make a name in the precinct. Hell, she was just ready to be in the field. And looking at her eager, shining eyes, the chief knew she deserved this one.

With a sigh and a large plume of smoke from the cigar, the chief leaned forward and put the evidence baggie beside the other case files and evidence that Hopps had brought in.

Talk to Ben about getting the appropriate paperwork for your gear, and I'll inform Delgato that he'll be working with you on this."

Judy jumped in her chair, letting out a triumphant "yes!" as she did so. Starting to collect her things, the rabbit couldn't let the smile leave her face.

"Since I've given you this case, I trust you have a place to start," the buffalo said, taking the cigar out of his mouth and studying it before putting it out on the ashtray.

After stuffing the last folder into her bag, Judy grabbed the evidence baggie and held it in her paws.

"All I need is some info on this Mr. Big," Judy said, unzipping the baggie and pulling out a smooth, copper tuft of fur.

"And I think I've got myself a pretty good lead."

* * *

 **AN: Well, Nick is screwed now, huh? Judy is on the case! Sorry it took me so long to write this chapter, I've been busy with work and I accidentally deleted the majority of my progress on it... Whoops. But here it is, at 12:52 in the morning, just for you guys! Hope you enjoy, and as always, if you like the story, please feel free to hit that Favorite/Follow button, and reviews are always appreciated! Goodnight! (or good morning, I guess. :p)**


	4. The Beginning

Delgato leaned back in his chair as he ran a hand through his fur. He didn't want to work on a case like this, not when there were easier ones out there like the onion robbery at a local produce store. Still in disbelief, the lion sighed as he looked back down to his rabbit colleague.

"The chief just assigned me to the case?"

Judy nodded.

"He didn't assign Fangmeyer or Woffard to it too?"

The rabbit shook her head.

"Just me and you?"

Once again, Hopps nodded her head.

Another sigh came from the Delgato, this one more exaggerated than the last. Pushing himself back from his desk in his cubicle, he grabbed the keys to the armory. Judy had been looking around his cubicle; pictures of Delgato and numerous other officers together in a variety of climate zones. Delgato was the only mammal that had been too every zone in Zootopia and brought the crime he was investigating there to a close. It was this reason that he must've had so many awards and accolades.

Judy felt her nose start twitching. _I wish I had a cubicle this decorated..._

"Let's go Hopps," Delgato said, semi-startling the rabbit. "We gotta get our gear."

"O-oh yeah," Judy said excitedly, anxious to see what all she was going to be able to use on her investigation. "I'm coming!"

Judy bounced as she followed the lion, a smile making its way onto her face.

* * *

Staring at the pile of large mammal sized equipment, Judy's smile quickly turned into a frown. She crossed her arms as her foot started stamping on the floor. Delgato heard the tapping and looked down to see a flustered rabbit, clearly unhappy about the size of the gear she was issued.

"Sorry Hopps," Delgato said, strapping his helmet to his head to fit it. "But you are our only smaller officer. The next smaller one is Fangmeyer, and he's using his gear right now apparently."

Judy looked up to the lion. "How am I supposed to defend myself in danger? Hide behind you?"

Delgato nodded, causing the rabbit's ears to droop downward.

"If we ever get into trouble, you either stay in the car or stay behind me. You have no gear that fits, and no weapon. You'd be a prime target for a monster like we'll surely be going against sooner or later."

"I don't have a gun either?!" Judy's arms flew up, her cheeks noticeably red with anger. "That's great! Might as well give me an orange vest with the words 'kill me' stenciled on the back of it!"

Delgato couldn't help but feel a little upset about the lack of protection that Judy had. He knew that he couldn't protect her 24/7, and the risk of losing an officer was always there.

That's when Delagto suddenly remembered his last arrest. Flipping through his keys that Clawhauser had given him, he found the lockup key and made his way towards the evidence locker. Pulling open the door, Delgato reached in and grabbed his latest piece of evidence.

Feeling a tap on her shoulder, Judy turned around to see the lion officer holding a small dart gun.

"Here," Delgato said, pushing the pistol into Judy's hands. "This can at least protect you. Nabbed that from a weasel who was running from a drug deal gone bad. Figure that at least this won't be noticed that it's missing for a little while. You can get ammo for it at Cecil's Bullets and More. It's on 6th and Ferret Drive."

Judy examined the pistol, happier now that she could at least walk away with some form of self-defense. "Thank you, Delgato. That store isn't too far away from where I live, so I'll hit it up before going home."

"Well, you better go then," Delgato said, checking his watch. "They close in about 40 minutes. I'll lock up for you."

"Oh, thank you!" Judy smiled. "I'll head out right now! I'll see you tomorrow bright and early!" With that, Judy ran out the door to the armory and out the front door, fast as lightning. Delgato closed the gear locker in front of him, shaking his head.

"Those damn energetic rabbits."

* * *

Bouncing down the street towards the gun store, Judy carried her dart pistol on her side. It was dark outside and there was just a slight nip in the fall air, resulting in the rabbit bundling up in her patrol jacket before getting too far off from the station.

Humming as she went, a faint crashing sound came from behind a nearby building, causing Judy's ears to stand on end. Stopping dead in her tracks, Judy squinted in the direction of the noise, slowly starting to creep her way over to where it came from.

Just steps away from the alley where the noise came from, another crash rang out, this time metal against concrete. Judy pulled her dart gun out from under her jacket, and chambered one of the two darts that was in the magazine. Controlling her breathing, she could hear soft footsteps approaching, and after counting to three, Judy popped around the corner, wearing drawn, ready to take down any perp that might be committing a crime. "Officer Hopps, ZPD, get your hands up!"

There, picking himself up off of the ground, was a small fennec fox with large ears, messy clothes, and very, **very** drunk.

"Ahm sorreey, off'cer," the fennec said. "I didn't see that damn can sittin' there." The fox pointed to the trash can on the ground. "If ya ask me, it looked like it'as wantin' t' fight 'nyway..."

Judy shook her head, the weapon trained on the fox. "Had a little bit to drink tonight, sir?"

The fox rapidly shook his head.

"Are you sure?"

Once again, he rapidly shook his head.

"Okay, well, what's gonna happen is I'm going to take you down to the police department, okay? We're gonna make sure you won't hurt yourself."

Again, the fox shook his head.

"Ah can't go back ta jail miss bunny," the fennec said, pointing a shaky finger at the officer. "I just came from a party and they'd be upset ta fin' me in the hole again... Can we jus' talk 'bout this?" The fox moved towards the rabbit, making her take a step back and raise a paw towards the man.

"Sir, stay where you are!"

"Hang on off'cer, I just want to *hic* talk 'bout this," the fox said, taking another step.

Retreating once more and putting both hands to the weapon, Judy trained the sights towards the fox's chest. "If you take one more step I will fire on you!"

"Now what would you have to go an' do that f-"

 _PAP, PAP!_

Two casings fell to the ground, as did the fox. Two darts protruded out of his chest, and the mammal lay motionless, passed out from a mixture of alcohol and the tranquilizers in the darts. Sighing, the rabbit holstered her pistol and made her way over to the fox. Looking around for the nearest phone booth to call the station, Judy let out a sigh. No way she was getting that ammo now.

Seeing no phone booth nearby, the rabbit turned to inspect her downed drunkard. Looking at his fur, Judy suddenly noticed a resemblance. It was the same color as the samples found in the recent crime scenes.

Kneeling down to take a better look, and getting an unlucky whiff of alcohol, Judy scanned the fox for any kind of eviden-

There.

Sticking halfway out of his pocket was a crumpled up piece of paper. Taking it out, Judy unfurled the paper and read the tiny letters on the other side.

The rabbit's eyes widened and her ears stood straight up.

She had found a new lead.


End file.
